Team: USAID/Nigeria MEL Support Activity

Project: Election Portfolio Performance Evaluation USAID/Nigeria

Location: Federal Capital Territory – Abuja, Nigeria

Reporting to: Assessment and Evaluation Advisor

Employment Type: Independent Contractor / Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA)

Period of Performance: October 2023 – May 2024

Number of Positions: 1

Navanti supports a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Support Activity program that assists USAID/Nigeria in advancing its broader organizational learning and development efforts. This program strengthens the Mission’s capacity and performance in programmatic monitoring, evaluation, learning, collaborating, and adapting. The MEL Support Activity closely aligns with USAID/Nigeria’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and provides a broad range of specialized technical assistance, training, data gathering and analysis, field-based monitoring, evaluations and assessments, facilitation of organizational learning and adaptation initiatives, and short-term technical assistance.

Performance Evaluation Objectives:

USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct a performance evaluation of the election portfolio. The purpose of the performance evaluation under DO3 IR 3.3 (Enhanced Credibility of Elections) is two-fold:

1. To assess the extent to which the Sustaining Electoral Engagement for Democracy (SEED) and Responsive Political Party Program (RPPP) activities contributed to enhancing the credibility of elections
2. To inform activity design for future election-related activities

This evaluation will be used primarily by USAID Nigeria’s Peace and Democratic Governance (PDG) team to inform activity design for future election-related activities. However, PDG will share the evaluation report with the broader USAID audiences, including USAID/Washington to help agencies better understand the electoral context of Nigeria and, most importantly, the efficacy of support to political parties, voter education via radio, and other channels.

The estimated start date will be November 13, 2023. The evaluation is expected to last until May 2024, and the estimated LOE will be 40 days, maximum.

Candidates are advised to submit applications early.

Position Description:

Navanti is seeking a Media Expert to support the evaluation team in assessing how radio messaging under the SEED Activity influenced listeners' perceptions and attitudes towards participation of marginalized groups in Nigeria’s elections and politics. The candidate is expected to identify other methodologies for assessing the effectiveness of radio programming on voters and civic participation in Nigeria. Under the technical leadership of the MEL Support Activity, the Media Expert will work alongside four evaluation team members.

Locations:

1. Abuja, Federal Capital Territory
2. Adamawa State
3. Anambra State
4. Bauchi State
5. Bayelsa State
6. Benue State
7. Ebonyi State
8. Ekiti State
9. Osun State
10. Kaduna State
11. Sokoto State

Responsibilities:

The media expert is expected to:

1. Conduct a desk review of the portfolio and the mass media programming used in engaging the citizens.
2. Coordinate with the team leader and other team members to develop an evaluation work plan, especially on how to measure the effectiveness of the radio programs, identify key stakeholders, and conduct interviews.
3. Work with the team leader to perform desk review and identify additional information about citizens' sensitization using radio and other communication channels.
4. Work with the evaluation specialist to design the data collection instruments and ensure it addresses all evaluation objectives.
5. Work with the team leader in planning, developing, coordinating, and administering research tools.
6. Interpret and analyze qualitative and quantitative data.
7. Work with the team leader and other team members in preparing reports.
8. Support the team leader in writing or editing technical reports and summaries of findings.
9. Support the team leader to develop the draft Evaluation report with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from the Out-brief presentation.
10. Work with the team leader to respond to USAID comments on the draft report, incorporate USAID/Nigeria staff comments into the final version of the report, and finalize the report.
11. Work collaboratively with team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise.

Qualifications:

The candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience assessing radio programming, conducting listenership survey
• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in English, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field is required.
• Knowledge of radio messaging and broadcast in Nigeria media.
• Knowledge of issues relating to voters and civic participation of marginalized groups in Nigeria.
• Knowledge of the role of civil society in strengthening citizen participation in Nigeria’s political and electoral processes

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.